When should you put your baby's shoes on?

When your baby finally starts walking outside, you can ask yourself the question: what are you putting on your little feet?

If walking barefoot is highly recommended indoors and for as long as possible, we can tell ourselves that it is even more practical to put slippers on your heir’s feet when walking down the street, story that his skin does not. is in contact with all the microbes and dirt of the bitumen.

But then, where do we start? What are the steps to follow?

When to put shoes on your baby?

Specifically, the rule number 1 of the walking child is: the barefoot the better. At home, at the nursery, at the nanny’s, in the garden, we leave the foot as free as possible, to let the arch of the foot form and build muscles.

When the baby crawls or when he crawls, let his little feet also live their life with nothing in the end, it could only weight down and prevent your hips and feet from positioning correctly.

When it starts get up and cling to the furniture (and throwing everything down at your fingertips, yay), it’s the same thing. We leave the foot without constraints.

indoors, once the walk has been acquiredthat is to say, once the child no longer needs to cling to anything, neither furniture nor hands, to walk, which he no longer runs along and jokes like an antelope in the savannah, he has nothing left.

If the temperatures are too low and you are concerned about your toes freezing, there is a chance to do so small soft slippers or cotton socks, which do the job very well. But stay vigilant the same as for the slippers: them should not over-tighten the foot and imprison it, but it simply serves as a heat shield against the cold ground.

For the outside, once the baby is walking more or less correctly and it becomes impossible to keep him in the stroller under pain of audible howls from 3 km away, we can attack him with adapted shoes at the feet.

How to find out the child’s shoe size?

Unlike adult feet, which change very little in size over the rest of their life, children’s feet grow at breakneck speed. To give you an idea, even if each child is different on average a child between the ages of one and two changes size every two to three months. For kids between two and four, it’s one size every three to four months, so between four and six, it’s one size every four or six months. Finally, around the age of six, a child grows from one to two sizes per year.

But to measure the feet of the children who want to take themselves for Usain Bolt, how do you do it? Already, let’s avoid pedometersthese objects that certainly allow us to know the official size of the heir, but which do not give the real size of the foot.

Indeed, a child’s foot is measured in length, but also in widthand these are the data to take into account when buying your first shoes.

To measure well, you need some equipment, but don’t panic, it’s very easy.

Arm yourself with a white sheet, a marker and a ruler
Place the baby’s foot on the sheet
Once this is done and the lump is not moving (hold him upright as you measure his toes, stick the pastry dough or the detachable stickers into his hands during this time, this should keep him quiet for a few minutes), make a point with the marker in front of the big toe, another behind the heel, one next to the foot bump on the side and another on the other side. Once done on one foot, move on to the other, and that’s okay, you have the necessary markings for the measurement.
Then measure, with a ruler, the space between the points, in width and length and write down these figures, up to the nearest decimal point.

To help you visualize the operation, here is a video from the specialized site Small giant steps :

Once you have these numbers, choosing the right size shoes should be easier. As an indication, on the Allobébé childcare site, I found this table that can give you an idea of your baby’s size, but only in length:

do not forget to also measure the width, so that the fingers of the precious do not feel cramped. Just like adults, children can have thin feet, wide feet, and a shoe that fits these factors is essential.

Which shoes to choose for your first steps?

Once the walk is officially acquired, that’s it, you can go there and snap your PEL for your first shoes. But how do we choose them?

There are several points to consider when making your choice: the soles must be flexible and thinthe Achilles heel must be adequately supported (but models that are too high are also not needed) and the front of the foot must be flexible.

If all these points are met, skip it, let’s go to the cashier. The shoe has to be really flexible and support the natural movement of the foot. A too stiff sole could prevent the foot from rolling and the toes could not do their job. It is not necessary to have a bow in the shoe, quite the contrary. The baby’s foot is naturally hollowed out by the action of different muscles as it growsand a pre-formed arch in the shoe could prevent the development of the muscles needed for balance and walking.

Small additional detail: we avoid the shoes used in the beginning, because the sole must not have supported the feet of other children at risk of having left a footprint that does not correspond to that of your heir. For the first shoes, it is better to type new and quality, made from solid materials. But it is true that it is an investment, which should not, if possible, be neglected.

The best, for the first shoes, is to ask for advice from a specialized shoemaker in a children’s store. He will offer you the models that are really suitable for the first steps, he will make your child try various models, after having correctly measured his foot.

Concretely, the shoe must not interfere with walking, and turn it into an unnatural movement. Let the toes live their life, the arch of the foot do the things of him and everything will be done on time.

If you have the slightest doubt about your child’s first steps or posture, don’t hesitate to consult his doctor or podiatrist, who can provide you with appropriate advice.

Finally, remember that depending on the brands, the sizes may be different : this is why it is important to measure the child’s foot correctly and transfer these measurements to those indicated in the shoe models. A child may very well do 22 with one brand and 20 with another.

I have selected some models of soft slippers or special shoes for the first stepsin suitable materials, of good workmanship.